Gates on the Hill
by The Wandering Swordsman
Summary: AU Because of his mother's 'job', Zoro was looked down upon. He longed for a change until finally he was involved in an incident and his wish came true. fluffSanjixZoro


**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

**It's an AV or modern setting story.**

* * *

In the quiet valley, there was a small city surrounded by huge magical oak trees. The elegant trees always had a blend of reds, orange, and yellow throughtout the year. All of the families enjoyed the calm scenery and thus moved here. In honor of the beautiful trees, they named the city after it: Autumn Falls.

In this land, where peace seemed to shroud the lands, there was a child who had misfortune and misery carried on his back. His name was Zoro and he lived on the lowers skirts of the valley, where drug dealers and strippers thrived. His mother was a whore and had sex with different kinds of men everynight. The young teen doesn't know his father because she couldn't remember which one.

Because his mother has a bad reputation, the child was looked down terribly. No one wanted to trust him because of what he was. His only friend was his childhood friend, Sanji who always helped him when he was hurt.

But one day, he realized that his friend wasn't actually called a friend anymore when he heard he and his other classmates talk bad about him.

Upset, Zoro called Sanji out of his lunchtime one particular day and told him what he heard. Sanji didn't react, he instead replied coldy, "You eavesdrop too? Huh, of course a child of a prostitite will do something like that. Listen Zoro, don't talk to me as if you're my friend-I'm not. You ruin my reputatin because I hang around with you. So please, stop hanging around with me." Sanji turned, his back onto Zoro, "I was nice to you because I was annoyed by your fucking crying. That's all." Sanji left, leaving the teen more miserable and heartbroken.

Zoro trudged home on the city streets alone. He was enraged-it wasn't his fault he was born from a mother who slept with many men. Why is everyone so mean to him? He tried to participate in school activities and brought up his grades, but all of the teachers stare at him wide-eyed and say, "Wow, I never expected this much from you. Probably came from your unknown father." All of the students in his class throughout his years were afraid to go near him because their parents told them what his mother _and _he might be doing. _Why don't they accept me for who I am!? _Zoro thought bitterly as he watched the cars go by. His mother was actually very kind-that's why she's so popular with the men. Everytime he came home from school either with tears falling from his eyes or with a tight frown-his mother always took him in his arms and always apologize to him-which of course, made him tear up even more. It wasn't her fault, it was the people who think that stuff that normal people don't do is weird and love to harrass them. _And out of all of the people-_Zoro suddenly lowered his shoulders and sighed weakly. The cross light turned green and Zoro set afoot first before the others started walking._ If they didn't care what my mom was...I wonder what kind of life would that be..._His mind drifted off until he heard screaming and yelling in the distance of his mind. When he turned around, it was too late. A truck collided into him, sending him crashing into the sidewalk. His arms were broken, his ribcages crushed, and he fainted from the sudden pain and shock. The drunken driver didn't know what he hit, so he kept on going, passing the red light.

Zoro lay in the darkness, the pain enveloping him. He never had this much of physical pain before. He tried moving his arms, but a jolt of pain answered him. His body felt weak and the darkness surrounded him again.

It seemed like forever when his eyes opened again, but this time it wasn't complete darkness. Zoro's eyes quietly wandered around the room. The white walls, floor, the tv on a small box-like drawer, and the semi-comfortable bed told him it was a hospital. He turned and his eyes were suddenly glued to an object. Dangling from his bedpoost was a long chain of origami cranes-probably about a thousand. He touched one of the chains with his nonpainful hand, admiring the colors of the birds. He chuckled slightly at some of the cranes were not neatly folded and the white side was visible._ I wonder who folded these cranes...must taken them a long time..._Zoro tried lifting his body to get a better view of the cranes when he heard the door slide open and a doctor entered in.

The doctor's eyes lit up when he saw Zoro. He approached the teen's bed with huge grin across his face, "How are you feeling kid? Do you feel any pain?"

Zoro rubbed his temples, "Now that I think about it, my head does hurt a little."

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

"...not really..."

"First of all, this is the Akibana Hospital. The reason why you are here is because you got hit by a vehicle."

"Oh...that's why my body's this stiff..."

"Yes...and do you know your name?"

"It's Zoro."

The doctor sighed, "Good, you don't have amnesia. When that happens, it's a hassle to take care of...excuse me..." He unbuttoned Zoro's medical outfit and laid a finger on the bandages wrapping his chest. "You broke the lower part of the ribs, fractured the radius and brusied the legs. Lost of cuts, some cutting past the dermis, but it'll heal in a week. You're going to stay at this hospital for rehab for a week and you'll be safe to leave. Do you have any questions?"

Zoro pointed to the chain of paper birds, "Who gave this to me?"

"Oh, he said he was your classmate." the doctor smiled.

Zoro frowned, "It must be a mistake. No one likes me at school. No one will take their time to make something for me..."

The doctor searched the room, "Oh...he hasn't come here today...well Zoro-kun, a child who said he was in the same school came here a couple of times to see how you were doing. He delivered those paper origamis. He sure looked like he was worried."

"...Are you saying that so I won't feel miserable?"

The doctor chuckled, "It's true kid, he was asking many times when you'll wake up?"

"Wake up!?...How long was I asleep?"

"A week. It's not called sleeping kid, it's called a coma."

Zoro shrugged, "Did you tell him that I woke up?"

"No, not yet. Do you want to meet him?"

Zoro sighed, not looking forward to it, "Sure. I want to thank him for delivering these..."

The doctor didn't notice his tone of voice and kept on smiling, "All right then, I'll report him right away." The doctor handed him a tv remote and left the room.

Zoro blankly stared at the television as he flipped the channel over the forth time. His favorite animation show just ended and all there was news, tv commericals, cheesy shows. He turned it off after the fifth round, and sank into the sheets. He was about to doze off to sleep listening to the waterdrops from the IV when the door slid open and a man rushed in.

Zoro recognized who it was and he couldn't hide his disappointment. He was the first person he didn't want to meet. "What do you want Sanji?" Zoro spat. He didn't mean to sound rude, but what happened last week-which seemed like yesterday-still remained in his gut. Sanji closed the door behind him and cautiously walked to the bed. He sat on a stool and cleared his throat, "Are you okay?"

"Do I look dead to you!? I'm fine! God, stop acting like you care!" Zoro scowled and looked away. The was silent except for the continuing noise of the IV dripping away the time until a sob drowned it out. Zoro, his body turned the opposite of Sanji, turned his head to find his former friend crying, his whole body was shivering. "Sanji?"

"I was so worried...I thought you..."

_Wait..._Zoro thought,_ is the classmate visitor him? _He moved toward Sanji and shook him a little, "Sanji...?" he pointed to the cranes, "-did you give me this?"

"Yeah..." he sniffed, "That's for you." _Oh great. It was him_. Zoro leaned back a little, his hand still on Sanji's shoulder. "I'm sorry...I didn't know..."

"Zoro...I'm sorry."

"...for what?"

"...for calling you a son of a prostitute and stuff...I...felt so bad afterwards and decided to go after you. But...when I crossed the corner, I saw a huge crowd of people and an ambulence...I wondered what happened...and when I went in the crowd...you were there...on the ground...blood was everywhere...Zoro...I'm so glad you're alive."

Zoro's heart fluttered a little. Though he tried to hide it, he knew his face was reddening, "uh...I...forgive you..."

The room feel silent again, but this time the room atmosphere was lighter. For the first time in months, a smile appeared on Zoro's lips. Sanji noticed the smile and he couldn't resist to smile back. "So...um...did you make all of the cranes?"

Sanji wiped back his tears on his sleeve and grinned, "That would be awesome, but no I didn't. Everyone in our school helped."

Zoro was in disbelief, "Really?"

"Really! When they heard that a student at our school got into an accident they felt very sorry. Even though they knew it was you, they still gave their heart into these cranes, adding a wish to each of them to wake up from your coma and regain your health."

Zoro found a very distorted origami crane in the chain and showed it to Sanji. "Even this one?"

Sanji's lips curved into a frown, "Why, that's an ugly bird."

After a week of rehabilitation, Zoro was well enough to leave the hospital. The doctor shook hands with him, "I would say, come again, but I shouldn't."

"Thank you Hirurukku-sensei." Zoro let go of his hand and bowed.

"Let's go Zoro! The taxi's waiting!" Sanji called from the front of the lobby.

Hirurukku smiled, "Well, good-bye Zoro-and I hope to only see you out in public." Zoro laughed at the comment and left the hospital, following Sanji to the taxi.

Zoro felt like he was dreaming when he went to school the following day. All of the students in his class welcomed him. He received many small gifts from girls and a slap on the back from the men. Everyone wanted to see the scars that remained on Zoro's body, but Sanji strongly refused and told everyone to return to their seats. Even the teachers were acting kind towards him. When his teacher gave him back the test he took two weeks ago, the teacher smiled and complimented on his good work.

During English period, everyone took out their novels and listened to the teacher read outloud while walking around the aisle. Whenver the teacher passed Zoro's aisle, he took that time to stare out the window and daydream. He knew he was behind two weeks on the book, but he couldn't help it. The school was next to a park and it had a beautiful view of the orange trees. His eyes swam along with the motion of the trees, until he noticed the trees curved and headed toward a hill.

The hill was huge and it looked like it might take a while to climb up. A small dirt trail lead to the top of the hill where a huge black two-door gate stood. Zoro blinked and leaned closer to the window. The gate was gorgeous, the two doors curved and a beautiful black design wrapped the gate. Where the light shone on it, the gate shined back with vibrant colors. The orange trees were standing in front of the surronding black fences. What lured Zoro's eyes were the tall green objects on the other side of the black gate. The gate was surprising enough, but the tall green objects were rare to Zoro too. He decided to ask Sanji what the gate and the green things later.

"Those green things are called trees...that's what Matsuda-sensei told me." Sanji answered him during lunch. They sat outside of school on a nice field of grass. They had a great view of the park and the gate.

"I thought trees were orange."

"She said only here. The rest of the world is mostly green except autumn."

Zoro broke his gaze away from Sanji and stared at the gate, "I wonder if I can climb over that gate and climb those trees..."

"You know you can't do that! Those gates are way too tall for you to even climb over and if anyone sees you climb over there without a certificate, you'll be arrested."

Zoro tapped his head. Why didn't he remember that or the gate itself? The gate was so beautiful...why wasn't it in his memory? Was it because of the car accident? "Um...what's a certificate?"

Sanji finished eating his crepe and sighed, "The only way to get even close to that gate is the certificate. You only get it if you are a kind, respectful, and trustful. But that only person can go through. You can't bring friends. I dont know why, but you just can't. The certificate is only for that person." he laughed, "-if you get that certificate, _then _you may be able to climb those trees."

"What's over there besides those _trees_?"

"No one knows. People who get the certificate go in, but they never come back. Maybe because it's such a fun place, they don't want to return back here. Some people say on the other side, there's an ocean."

"An ocean?"

"Yeah! Imagine...when _we _want to go to the ocean, we have to drive few hours to get to a mediocrish ocean, while people with the certificate...they just walk through there and maybe...few walks later, there's an ocean...sparkling like jewels and the water so clean and crisp!"

"Do you think I can go there?"

Sanji leaned toward Zoro until their lips touched. Zoro can feel Sanji's lips brush by as he whispered, "Of course."

Zoro ran home from school and hugged his mom who was still in her silk dress pajamas. "Mom, everyone was so nice today-it was weird! I want to say thank you to that drunk driver for hitting me and granting my wish!"

His mother giggled, "You are always so silly. The snack's in the dining room if you're hungry."

Zoro walked past her where tons of men were gathering at one table, waiting for their turn to sleep with his mom, and grabbed a biscuit. He chowed down the dry piece of food and choked on it a little. "Hey mom, do you know what's on the other of the gate?"

His mom sighed softly, "No, but I try to imagine something beautiful...and free. Why?"

"Do you wish to go through the gate?"

"I did, but I'm afraid when I go there and realize it's the same as here. It's better to just think about it than to go it and see. Zoro, go upstairs and do your homework. I might be busy, so you might have to make dinner."

"All right." Zoro headed to the creaky staircase where his bedroom was and watched his mom let in another man into another door which led to her bedroom.

Zoro lay on his stomach while working on his homework. He rolled over on the bed and sighed. Sure, the other side of the gate might be the same like Autumn Falls(except for the green trees), but you wouldn't know until you try and see for yourself.

As the days progressed, Zoro started to get along with the other students and joined in more active activities like sports. All of the members of any sport wanted him to join because of his great sportsmanship. His grades improved and even reached to Sanji's GPA-the highest of the school. He made a lot of friends in a month, which had some good and bad points. Zoro missed eating lunch with just Sanji, but he liked the new experience. So when they wanted to spend some time together, they went to each others houses. Mostly Sanji because his room was cleaner.

One day, before first period started, the principal ordered all of the students to the auditorium, a huge dome-shaped building usually used for meetings or assemblies. The students formally sat in the comfortable seats and ignored the long speech the principal made. When the principal made a statement that wasn't usually in the long hour speech, the auditorium hushed down. "-and now I present this certificate to Roronoa Zoro. He now has the privilage to go throught the Gate." The whole auditorium was booming with applause. Zoro's face was pratically on fire when he carried his heavy legs to the platform to receive the certificate.

At lunchtime, Zoro and Sanji were sitting together on the grassy fields during lunch admiring the certificate. The paper was gold and was reflecting their faces. The jet black ink had his name in beautiful cursive. "Roronoa Zoro, you have the official right to go through the Gate" afterwards were tiny tiny font paragraphs on what kind of person he was and how this person received the certificate.

"The certificate is so simple. Anyone can steal this and go through saying that they're me."

"That doesn't work. The Gate only opens when the right person has the certificate. Are you going to go after school?"

"...I...don't know."

Sanji's eyes widened, "Why? All this time you wanted to go and you finally got it! Aren't you excited?"

"But...I like it here! My past life sucked, but now, it's great! And plus...I have to go there by myself."

"So?"

"You won't be there."

Sanji laughed, "Oh, Zoro! Don't worry! One day, I'll the certificate too, and I'll go there right away and find you."

"What if it took years? What if you never get it? What am I going to do while I'm there!?"

"If you don't like it, you can always come back. No one said you can't."

"Yeah...but..."

"You have lots of time to think...take your time." The lunch bell rang and Sanji stood up first, pecked Zoro's cheek before heading back to class.

Sixth period ended and Zoro was heading for biology through an outside hallway when something caught his eye. He turned and saw a marble fountain right in the middle of the school grounds. Again, it was an structure he never seen before, even though he took this route many times. He walked toward the fountain when a hand grasped his shirt and yanked him back into the hallway. Zoro veered around and stood face to face with Koza. He glared at Zoro, "Zoro! what were you doing!?"

"I was about to walk to the fountain until you grabbed me."

"Zoro, remember this: DON'T GO NEAR THAT FOUNTAIN. It is cursed and is dangerous!"

"Why?"

"I never seen it happen before, but rumors say, the fountain water reflects some images of the past that the person had. When they go too close to the fountain edge, for some reason, that person trips in it and drowns. The strangest part is...the body never floats to the surface."

"Why...do we have such a dangerous fountain?"

"No one wants to take it out because they have the fear the fountain might drown them."

"Thanks for saving me...Koza, but I'll probably never go there ever again. Not because of the fear of drowning, but seeing the images of the past. I don't want to go back there again."

* * *

"Ne," Zoro turned on his stomach waking the sleeping partner. Sanji tossed around in the sheets and finally woke up. "What?" It's been five days since Zoro received the certificate, and he still never walked up to the hill.

Zoro sat up on the bed and stared out in the distance, "I know the certificate only allows me to go to the gate, but can we both go up the hill?"

Sanji stretched, "I don't see why not...are you ready to go?" Zoro paused a little and nodded slightly. Sanji reached for his collared shirt, "All right then, go take a shower and wear cleaner clothes. You don't want to look all dirty in front of the Gate."

In a matter of minutes, Zoro was walked outside of Sanji's house with clean clothes and a light blue hooded jacket. It was five in the morning and a light fog covered the streets. He waited for Sanji to come outside and lock the front door before they left. "Do you have the certificate?"

"Yeah"

"Okay let's go." Sanji turned and headed toward the hill and Zoro walked along with him. They were walking in a slow steady beat, as if they were actually not ready to go. Neither of them wanted to part, but something told them it was time. Zoro told himself many times that Sanji and him will reunite on the other side of the gate someday and Sanji thought the same.

"Did you write a note to your mom?"

"Yeah. I told her it's only temporarily. You know how she is...she panics when I don't come home at the exact time or date."

Sanji laughed in agreement and they were silent again.

The Gate was far more elegant when view up close. The tip of the gates were so high it seemed to touch the sky. The black fences stretched from far as the eye can see, some hidden by the orange trees. In front of the gate was a small cottage and an old man walked out. He was wearing a nice black suit with golden buttons down this shirt and shiny black boots. His hands were covered with silk white gloves and he wore a black cap with a golden badge. His style matched the gate nicely. The old man smiled softly, "Are you Roronoa Zoro? May I see the certificate?" Zoro slowly handed the certificate and the old man stamped with a huge stamp on the only space on the paper. "Wait here while I open the gate, " he chuckled as he walked to the gate, "It opens outwards."

Zoro turned to Sanji and forced a smile, "Don't worry Sanji...I-I'll have fun on the other side...I won't be bored...and if I do come back, I'll tell you all the great stuff there so you'll be so envious!" Zoro tried to hold back his tears, but failed and sobbed. Sanji embraced Zoro and let him cry in his chest. Zoro was confused. Why was he crying? Why was his heart aching so much? It was just a short trip, he'll come back to Autumn Falls. He'll come back from the Gate and tell everyone what's on the other side, so it wouldn't remain a mystery anymore. Why was he in so much pain?

"The Gates are open Roronoa-san. You can go through now." Zoro wanted to stay in Sanji's chest forever, but again, something told him to let go. He slowly let go of him and gazed at Sanji for the last time. His usual cool tone wasn't on his face and instead what was replaced was a sad mask with a red eye (the other eye was hidden), and wet cheeks. Zoro turned and walked to the gate, leaving Sanji where he stood.

Zoro stared at the opened gate. The dirt road continued into the forest full of the green trees. His eyes started to water again and he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and screamed, "Sanji, I love you...! T-Thanks for being my friend!" He waved a hand and walked into the other side. For some reason, he thought he heard Sanji scream, but he couldn't tell if it was 'good-bye' or 'I love you.'

The Gate closed on its own and the city of Autumn Falls, crumbled into pieces.

Zoro died in the Akibana hospital. He got hit by a truck and was severly wounded and was quickly taken to the hospital. He was in medical care for forty-nine days and on the fiftith day around five o'clock in the morning, Zoro's breathing finally stopped. He never woke up from a coma.

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THE END


End file.
